Mary Sullivan, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN
Professor - College of Nursing
Biography
Dr. Sullivan's scholarly focus is developmental pediatrics. Her research program examines the developmental outcomes of premature infants. A current National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research grant is the only study of its kind in the U.S. tracking their long-term health and developmental outcomes. The study examines the impact of prematurity, medical history, and environments on achievement and concerns through young adulthood. Assessments include biomarkers of blood chemistry, pulmonary function testing, cardiopulmonary response to exercise and metabolic functioning, and HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) function by salivary cortisol. The intent is to show whether prematurity impacts health and early disease onset could be explained by alterations in HPA function.
As a research scientist at Women & Infants Hospital's Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, she is involved in interdisciplinary research projects in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Past President of the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS), a member of the American Nurses Association, the Rhode Island State Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, and the Council for Advancement in Nursing Science.
Education
Ph.D., Nursing, University of Rhode Island
M.S., Nursing, University of Nebraska
B.S., Nursing, Salve Regina College
Research
Outcomes of preterm infants and their developmental context.
Neuroimaging in children with clinical problems.
Publications
Sullivan, M.C., Miller, R.J., Andreozzi-Fontaine, L., & Lester, B.M. (in press). Refining Neurobehavioral Assessment of the High Risk Infant Using the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS). Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing.
Lester, B.M., Miller, R.J., Hawes, K., Salisbury, A., Bigsby, R., Sullivan, M.C., Padbury, J.F. (2011). Infant neurobehavioral development. Seminars in Perinatology, 35, 8-19.
Msall, M. E., Sullivan, M. C., and Park, J. (2010). Pathways of risk and resilience after prematurity: Role of socioeconomic status. In C. Nosarti, R. Murray, M. Hack (Eds). Preterm birth: Long-term effects on brain and behavior. Cambridge University Press.
Matook, S., Sullivan, M.C., Salisbury, A. L., Miller, R.J., & Lester, B.M. (2010).Variation of sound by location and time of day in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Neonatal Network, 29, 87-95.
Miller, R. J., Sullivan, M. C., Hawes, K., and Kerivan Marks, A. K. (2009). The effects of perinatal morbidity and environmental factors on health status of preterm children at age 12. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 24, 101-113.
Sullivan, M.C., Hawes, K., Winchester, S.B., Miller, R. (2008). Focus on developmental origins theory: Prematurity to adult disease. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 37, 158-164.
Sullivan, M.C., McGrath, M.M., Hawes, K. and Lester, B.M. (2008). Growth Trajectories of Preterm Infants: Birth to 12 Years. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 22, 83-93.
Sullivan, M.C. and Hawes, K. (2007). A decade comparison of preterm motor performance at age 4. Research in Nursing and Health, 30, 641-654.
Sullivan, M.C. and Msall, M.E. (2007). Functional Performance in Preterm Children at Age 4. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 22 (4), 297-308.